Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Hardin County, Texas

Unincorporated Hardin County, Texas requires a Development Residential Permit before most construction begins, issued by the county's Floodplain Administration¹. The county defines development broadly: any man-made change to real estate, including buildings and other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, drilling, or storage of equipment or materials¹. The permit fee is $100 for the first 1,000 square feet plus $25 for each additional 100 square feet, though fees can be waived on some non-residential outbuildings depending on use¹. Placing a manufactured home on the property needs its own separate permit, at $100 per home, and it's the buyer or homeowner's responsibility to obtain it, not the dealer or transporter¹. No work of any kind may start until the permit is issued, the residential permit expires if work does not begin within 6 months, and the fee doubles if you begin before getting a required permit^2,9. The county's page does not say whether this program also applies inside incorporated cities, so ask the Floodplain Administration if your parcel is near city limits¹.

Hardin County's development, floodplain, manufactured home, electrical, and culvert permits are all issued through the Floodplain Administration at 225 Crocker Street, Kountze, TX 77625, phone (409) 246-5250, email permits@hardincountytx.gov¹. Before running electrical service from Entergy or SHECO to new construction, you need a separate $30 electrical permit from the same office¹. If you'll need a driveway culvert on a county road, the county installs the first one at no charge beyond a $50 permit fee, and charges $450 for each additional culvert on the same property¹. The county doesn't install culverts on state highways or private roads, so a state-highway driveway routes through TxDOT instead^1,8. Inside a subdivision, a driveway culvert permit is required and the Road and Bridge Department must approve the culvert size and grade³.

Hardin County has no zoning ordinance; its permit program covers development, floodplain, manufactured homes, electrical service, and culverts, not zoning districts¹. Texas gives counties zoning power only in narrow, specifically named situations⁶. We could not confirm the zoning rules of each city in Hardin County, so ask the city if your parcel lies inside city limits. Because there's no zoning, the county sets no minimum home size, minimum lot size, setback, lot-coverage limit, or building-height limit by ordinance, and doesn't restrict RVs, tiny homes, manufactured homes, or accessory dwellings through zoning⁶. That doesn't mean there's no process: the Development Residential Permit and manufactured-home placement permit above still apply to most new structures¹.

Hardin County's Subdivision Regulations say an on-site sewage facility (OSSF, commonly called septic) is permitted by the Hardin County Environmental Health Department or by TCEQ, and which one applies depends on the system and jurisdiction^3,5. Texas requires a permit and approved plan to construct, install, alter, extend or repair an OSSF, and where no local jurisdiction is authorized the TCEQ regional office is the permitting authority⁴. Subdivisions that use OSSFs must have an approved OSSF Subdivision Plan under 30 Texas Administrative Code 285.4(c)³. The county's website does not list a direct phone number or address for the Environmental Health Department, so call the county courthouse switchboard to be routed⁵. A 10-acre exemption can apply only if every condition is met: a TCEQ-licensed site evaluator or engineer signs off, the tract holds a single-family home on at least 10 acres, all system parts sit at least 100 feet from the property line, and effluent stays on the property⁴.

Because unincorporated Hardin County has no zoning, there's no zoning-based restriction on living in an RV, a tiny home, or a manufactured home on your own land⁶. That said, if you place a manufactured home on the property, Hardin County's Floodplain Administration requires its own placement permit, at $100 per home, and the buyer or homeowner is responsible for getting it, not the dealer¹. Any other structure or development on the land, including a tiny home built or moved in, likely triggers the county's Development Residential Permit and its per-square-foot fee¹. Confirm with the Floodplain Administration how they'll treat your specific setup before you buy or move one in¹.

1. Contact the Hardin County Floodplain Administration (409-246-5250) before you buy, to confirm the flood zone and what the Development Residential Permit will require¹.
2. Submit the Development Residential Permit application; budget $100 for the first 1,000 square feet plus $25 per additional 100 square feet¹.
3. If you're placing a manufactured home, apply for the separate $100 manufactured home placement permit before the home arrives¹.
4. Apply for the $30 electrical permit before Entergy or SHECO will connect service¹.
5. If you need a roadside culvert for your driveway, apply for the county's culvert permit; the first culvert installs free beyond the $50 permit fee, and in a subdivision Road and Bridge must approve its size and grade^1,3.
6. Contact the Hardin County Environmental Health Department for an OSSF (septic) permit if the property isn't on sewer⁵.
7. Before splitting a tract, check whether a plat is needed: Hardin County requires one when an owner divides a tract outside city limits into 4 or more parts, with limited exceptions such as agricultural use and lots over 10 acres³.
8. If your driveway will connect to a state highway rather than a county road, apply to TxDOT for a driveway permit on Form 1058 instead of a county culvert permit⁸.

Confirm the flood zone with the Floodplain Administration before you buy, since permit requests inside a Special Flood Hazard Area must comply with the Hardin County Floodplain Ordinance¹. Hardin County's soils are a real constraint for septic: none of the county's soils are rated free of severe limits for a conventional drain field, so budget for an engineered or alternative OSSF system and confirm site evaluation requirements with the Environmental Health Department early^5,10. The county is heavily wooded, at 85.7% forest cover, and gets 60.3 inches of rain a year, both of which affect site clearing and drainage planning¹⁰. If your access road will need a culvert on a county road, budget the $450 charge for anything beyond the first one, or the separate TxDOT process if you're on a state highway^1,8. There's no county zoning to check on a specific parcel, so verify any subdivision plat restrictions directly, since Hardin County's own Subdivision Regulations can set stricter OSSF lot-size rules than the state minimum⁶.